Disappointing X-Pro1 experience

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RichyD

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I took advantage of an X-pro1 offer in the summer, for a digital camera it ticked all the boxes for me but my experience has been disappointing.

The battery was lasting only for about 50 shots, found the exposure system off and seemed to have other glitches. I took it out with film cameras, some with internal meters and an external meter and it was driving me nuts giving exposure readings up to 1.5 stops over compared to the others, depending on the conditions. I experienced some other electrical glitches like sometimes displaying a different shutter speed to that selected when in manual mode.

I sent it back and two weeks later it was returned with a new battery and tick list of everything testing OK. I checked on forums before I sent it off and noted that the battery did not have an orange mark denoting a genuine Fuji battery, as the replacement did. So, on a brand new Fuji supplied camera I was given a counterfeit battery. Also, I understood that Fuji had a quick turnaround policy on X camera repairs.

Last week I had the opportunity to use it again also with the new 18mm lens. First off the aperture ring on this lens is stiff and scratchy to use, so that now has to be returned.

I still found the Xpro overexposes under darker conditions and I have to compensate by up to 2 stops in city night shots and am not confident of exposures in other conditions. I have never had such an experience with any camera. Even my Olympus 35RD gives reliable readings expected for the conditions and takes spot on slides, with an unsophisticated, centre-weighted, CDS meter.

Another infuriation is the framing in the viewfinder which is much reduced to what is actually recorded. I have a Fuji 645 Zi and it's fantastic compared to this, accurate framing even with it's step zoom and reliable exposures on film.

I'd be interested to hear other users experiences before I decide to sell it, I just don't have the confidence in using it. I have seen comments of underexposing in dark conditions, but my old Fuji X31 P&S is more reliable and accurate than this. Oh, I did upgrade to the latest firmware when I got it.
 
RichyD said:
I still found the Xpro overexposes under darker conditions and I have to compensate by up to 2 stops in city night shots and am not confident of exposures in other conditions. I have never had such an experience with any camera. Even my Olympus 35RD gives reliable readings expected for the conditions and takes spot on slides, with an unsophisticated, centre-weighted, CDS meter.
Click to expand...

The camera has various metering modes... did you try them all? Are you metering for the lights or the darks in the scene?

Another infuriation is the framing in the viewfinder which is much reduced to what is actually recorded.
Click to expand...

It's 90% the OVF. The EVF is 100%. This is no secret.

The rest of your issues are not normal and sounds like a defective unit. The X-Pro1 is my favorite camera. However, in most challenging lighting situations, I purposely underexpose as to avoid any blown highlights (as I do on all of my digital cameras) and then correct in PP.
 
The 35 is a beautiful lens... Period. The problem is what good is that performance when you can't hit the shot. I took a gamble and went with an Xpro for a vacation. Shot roughly 600 frames over a week and decided to return to BH. The focus system is horrendous regardless of how many firmware updates they had. I found the lens to be constantly back focusing and hunting and hunting and hunting. Great idea and I'm sure generation 2 models will be MUCH better but for 1600 bucks the xpro1 falls pretty damn short.

I will say that when you nail the shot, the files are freaking beautiful.
 
It sounds like you were bumping the D-pad buttons and that's what changed the exposure in manual mode. As they said, the metering mode has a lot to do with exposures, you can't expect any two cameras to give you the same readings.
 
RichyD said:
I still found the Xpro overexposes under darker conditions and I have to compensate by up to 2 stops in city night shots and am not confident of exposures in other conditions. I have never had such an experience with any camera. Even my Olympus 35RD gives reliable readings expected for the conditions and takes spot on slides, with an unsophisticated, centre-weighted, CDS meter.
Click to expand...

Part of your exposure problems might be coming from the fact that Fuji Digital ISO != Film ISO. They inflate values badly especially on the high iso side of the scale so that ISO6400 is more like ISO3200 or even slower. This drove me nuts while I had my X-E1: it was almost impossible to use it external light meter without a huge deal of exposure compensation (at least 0.66-1 stops over what the meter suggested for given scene on lower ISO values and even more than that on high ISO)
 
Part of your exposure problems might be coming from the fact that Fuji Digital ISO != Film ISO. They inflate values badly especially on the high iso side of the scale so that ISO6400 is more like ISO3200 or even slower. This drove me nuts while I had my X-E1: it was almost impossible to use it external light meter without a huge deal of exposure compensation (at least 0.66-1 stops over what the meter suggested for given scene on lower ISO values and even more than that on high ISO)
Click to expand...

I was thinking it could be something like that, more ISO related. Still, you get used to assessing the light, checking with a meter, and whether film or digital expect similar results which I got with other cameras, say 1/3 stop difference max between them but not from 1 to 2 stops.

The other thing I get and I've worked out roughly what happens is this. I normally work in optical view mode. If I switch to EVF and press review after taking a shot it first flashes up briefly on the rear screen, blanks it then shows in the viewfinder. If I switch back to OVF, on reviewing a shot it automatically switches to EVF and doesn't display on the rear screen but in the EVF. I managed to get it back once but don't know how and I have just tested that again and can't reset it. Is that normal?
 
As I shoot almost entirely with manual-focus film cameras, the focusing speed of the X-Pro has never been an issue with me, it is faster than trying to perfectly nail focus with a Leica M, even before the firmware updates came out. Low-light focus is painful, but I very seldom shoot in low light.

If you are coming from a DSLR, or some of the compacts now available, the Fuji can seem painfully slow. For myself, it doesn't bother me at all.

I don't understand the battery issues, I don't have any trouble getting a full day of shooting out of a single battery.

In the end, I am concerned with the images the camera outs out, and the Fuji can create some astonishing images.

This week I will give the new DF a spin, I want a camera which I can shoot with my collection of old Nikon lenses, but I doubt it replace my X-Pro. The Fuji simply makes great photos.
 
I have been thinking of giving the X-Pro1 a try lately. Based on what I have read here, I think I will stick with my M4-P.

I got the most recent issue of LFI magazine last week. There is an article in it where they talk about the so-called Italian flag phenomenon that Leica M9 and M users are facing. For $7000 USD you get a camera that has color problems?? 🙄

The things people are willing to put up with for the "convenience" of digital never cease to amaze me...
 
noisycheese said:
I have been thinking of giving the X-Pro1 a try lately. Based on what I have read here, I think I will stick with my M4-P.

I got the most recent issue of LFI magazine last week. There is an article in it where they talk about the so-called Italian flag phenomenon that Leica M9 and M users are facing. For $7000 USD you get a camera that has color problems?? 🙄

The things people are willing to put up with for the "convenience" of digital never cease to amaze me...
Click to expand...


I think what you are witnessing is a wildly differing user-base. It's to be expected, especially seeing as there are over half a million x series cameras in users' hands. You can put two drivers in the same car, and they will both cry out different things about its clutch (or lack thereof). A few bother to learn how to get the best out of it.

The OP bases his expectations on experiences with film cameras. At the end of the day, different tools. If he has a faulty camera, fuji should remedy it.
 
RichyD said:
I took advantage of an X-pro1 offer in the summer, for a digital camera it ticked all the boxes for me but my experience has been disappointing.

The battery was lasting only for about 50 shots, found the exposure system off and seemed to have other glitches. I took it out with film cameras, some with internal meters and an external meter and it was driving me nuts giving exposure readings up to 1.5 stops over compared to the others, depending on the conditions. I experienced some other electrical glitches like sometimes displaying a different shutter speed to that selected when in manual mode.

I sent it back and two weeks later it was returned with a new battery and tick list of everything testing OK. I checked on forums before I sent it off and noted that the battery did not have an orange mark denoting a genuine Fuji battery, as the replacement did. So, on a brand new Fuji supplied camera I was given a counterfeit battery. Also, I understood that Fuji had a quick turnaround policy on X camera repairs.

Last week I had the opportunity to use it again also with the new 18mm lens. First off the aperture ring on this lens is stiff and scratchy to use, so that now has to be returned.

I still found the Xpro overexposes under darker conditions and I have to compensate by up to 2 stops in city night shots and am not confident of exposures in other conditions. I have never had such an experience with any camera. Even my Olympus 35RD gives reliable readings expected for the conditions and takes spot on slides, with an unsophisticated, centre-weighted, CDS meter.

Another infuriation is the framing in the viewfinder which is much reduced to what is actually recorded. I have a Fuji 645 Zi and it's fantastic compared to this, accurate framing even with it's step zoom and reliable exposures on film.

I'd be interested to hear other users experiences before I decide to sell it, I just don't have the confidence in using it. I have seen comments of underexposing in dark conditions, but my old Fuji X31 P&S is more reliable and accurate than this. Oh, I did upgrade to the latest firmware when I got it.
Click to expand...


First, make sure you metering mode is on the matrix style mode - not spot. Make sure auto ISO is off. The x-pro1 meters within 1/3 of a stop of my very very accurate canon 1n and my sekonic l308, so the camera is fine - it is probably your metering mode.

Fuji did not send you a counterfeit battery - the orange catch/mark thing is only relevant with the x100, not the x-pro1 where the battery catch is grey and the batteries have no colored markings at all.

Showing a different shutter speed to that selected on the dial is not a glitch. The dial can do whole stops, and using the directional pad left and right arrow on the back can then fine adjust in further 1/3 stops. Its likely you hit that pad without knowing it fine adjusts the shutter speed.

The aperture rings do not feel like leica or voigtlander aperture rings - they are scratchy and stiff, and some of them are light. They are electronically coupled and have no mechanical linkage, so they feel different. Completely normal for the 18mm lens., and you can't really expect it to feel like mechanical precision on a $500 autofocus pancake lens with aspheric elements.

As far as night metering, all digital cameras are terrible with night exposures - film is much more forgiving. Once again make sure you metering mode is on MULTI, not spot. Make sure the ISO is set, not on auto iso.

The ovf gives 90% coverage with the 35mm lens. With the 18mm it is much more accurate. Use EVF if you want total accuracy. This just just a OVF thing - the digital leicas are similar.

Basically learn to use the camera. It doesn't work like your old film cameras and you will need to figure out how it works.
 
Richy,

Some personal observations from my foray with the X-Pro 1, which is a great image-making machine...but isn't old-fashioned (just looks like it).

The X-Pro 1 and the X100 both over-expose in their usual programmed-metering modes (matrix, or evaluative). The meters are lifting the shadows...period. Also, the pattern of the meters tries to decide FOR you how to expose. This is exaggerated by the fact that when you auto-focus, if you focus and recompose, the meter generally locks metering when it locks focus. You can be two or three stops off if you focus on a person's face, for instance, and then recompose for an entire scene...the focus (and the meter) have made their decision, and when you re-frame, metering doesn't change.

This is a sea change from a basic center-weighted meter, which doesn't lock with an auto-focus but allows the meter to "ride" the scene as you move and frame. "Dumb" meters like in your Oly 35RD (I have one) or even the Leica (M6 and now M9 for me) shoot like you're used to. In fact, if you ask my opinion, the "dumb" metering shoots more like a real, traditional camera! Start throwing in the automated focus/exposure lock and metering, and you're in for a very different shooting experience.

If you're looking for a more traditional experience (like what you're used to), shoot center-weighted, and learn how to exposure-lock a scene.

The X-Pro 1 is a very good camera, but it's a really modern one. It's very different from good old fashioned film cameras.
 
DanielDuarte said:
The 35 is a beautiful lens... Period. The problem is what good is that performance when you can't hit the shot. I took a gamble and went with an Xpro for a vacation. Shot roughly 600 frames over a week and decided to return to BH. The focus system is horrendous regardless of how many firmware updates they had. I found the lens to be constantly back focusing and hunting and hunting and hunting. Great idea and I'm sure generation 2 models will be MUCH better but for 1600 bucks the xpro1 falls pretty damn short.

I will say that when you nail the shot, the files are freaking beautiful.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to sound defensive but the focus system really isn't horrendous at all. You do have to have a little knowledge on how it works. I find it more reliable in the dark than my canon 5d mkIII.

RichyD said:
The other thing I get and I've worked out roughly what happens is this. I normally work in optical view mode. If I switch to EVF and press review after taking a shot it first flashes up briefly on the rear screen, blanks it then shows in the viewfinder. If I switch back to OVF, on reviewing a shot it automatically switches to EVF and doesn't display on the rear screen but in the EVF. I managed to get it back once but don't know how and I have just tested that again and can't reset it. Is that normal?
Click to expand...

When you press the playback button and are reviewing an image on the rear screen or EVF, pressing the VIEW MODE button will switch between reviewing on the LCD or EVF.
 
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